Laura Deutsch of babybites, Inc.
Laura Deutsch is the president of babybites, Inc., a social and educational community for moms and moms-to-be in the New York area.
5 Questions is a series where online business women are asked 5 questions about life as a mom and entrepreneur. To be featured, please contact me.
1. What or who inspired you to start your business?
I dreamed of being a mom from the time I was a little girl. All I wanted was to marry the man of my dreams, have babies, and take them to mommy-and-me classes. And then I became a mom. Wow, was I in for a shock! As much as I adored my baby girl, I found out quite soon after having her that staying at home full time was not going to cut it for me. I needed something else – something to call my own. And that was the impetus to starting babybites. As a new mom I found it difficult to meet other new moms and wanted to find a way to make it easier for future moms to meet each other. So within 4 weeks (literally) I came up with a name for the business, created a simple template website, found a restaurant to host my first luncheon, and walked the streets of NYC for hours a day with my baby in tow handing out fliers to every new mom I saw. In February 2006 babybites was born.
2. What motivates you?
Motivation for me is an internal drive. I love what I do and wake up in the morning excited to get to work.
3. How do you balance being a mom and an entrepreneur?
I have to admit – this is the hardest part of owning my own business. Because I am very type-A person, I need to do everything full force – running a business, being a mom, being a wife, retaining my friendships, keeping a tidy home, etc. I quickly found out that this is a very hard task! So to maintain some balance in my life, I have set boundaries for myself. From 8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Monday – Friday I am full-on entrepreneur. From 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. I am full-on mom. From 8:30 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. I am wife, friend, and homekeeper. And on weekends it’s a free for all! But I’ve found that as long as I am true to the 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. mother time, I feel at peace.
4. What do you love most about what you do?
Two things: First and foremost is the satisfaction I feel knowing that I have created a business that brings moms together. Nothing beats receiving an email from someone who tells me that babybites literally saved her during her first few months of being a mom. The second is the excitement. I never know what to expect. Owning your own business opens many doors and allows you to see and do things you would never have been able to do otherwise – meet exciting people, land deals, go to exclusive social events, be featured on TV, etc. It’s been an exciting ride!
5. What single piece of advice would you give someone who is starting out?
My best piece of advice comes from Nike – “Just Do IT!” Don’t think too much about every little thing that could go wrong – Just Do It. Forge ahead and take risks. (Important note: when I say take risks I mean take personal risks. Don’t be deterred by the fear of failure. I do NOT mean take financial risks. Financially you must be smart about what you do. Never put in more than you can afford to lose).
You can contact Laura at laura_at_babybites.net, follow her on Twitter: @babybites, or check out babybites, Inc.
Please visit our 5 Questions page or feel free to contact me for more information.
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Laura,
We sound a lot alike! I very much look forward to meeting you next Wednesday. I feel like I know a little bit about you already! I’m excited to be a part of the event and I hope your NYC mamas love Hot Mama Gowns too!!